Rock Cycle I: Sedimentary → Metamorphic
An outcrop of the Ordovician-aged Martinsburg Formation is used to illustrate the development of slaty cleavage, and hence a major transition in the Rock Cycle.
virginia
Another batch of GigaPans from the M.A.G.I.C. project
My students Alan Pitts, Chris Johnson, Robin Rohrback and I have been busy adding to the Mid-Atlantic Geo-Image Collection. Check out a few of these new GigaPan images: link link link link link link link
Milestones
Callan reflects on major moments this week in his personal and professional lives.
New GigaPans from the M.A.G.I.C. project
My students Chris Johnson and Robin Rohrback have been busy adding to the Mid-Atlantic Geo-Image Collection. Check out a few of these new GigaPan images: link link link link link
Passage Creek the morning after Sandy
The storm treated us well last night. We got some rain and some consistently moderate wind, but nothing insane. When I got up this morning, I checked the stream gauge online, and saw that Passage Creek was up significantly, and perhaps over the little low-water bridge that connects our house to the outside world. So … Read more
Geology and wine in northern Virginia, part II: the Valley & Ridge
Callan attends the Geological Society of Washington’s fall field trip, examining the relationship between grape-growing and the underlying geology of two provinces in northern Virginia: the Blue Ridge and the Valley & Ridge. With GSW compatriots, Callan visited Hume Vineyards in the central Blue Ridge province and North Mountain Vineyard and Winery in the Shenandoah Valley. This is part II of the field trip report.
Hurricane Sandy in the Fort Valley
Up here on the northwest flank of Massanutten Mountain, Lily and I prepared for Hurricane Sandy in several ways. We bought a generator this week (actually, we ordered it last week before Sandy was a twinkle in the atmosphere’s eye, but it was delivered this week), we stocked up on food (pizza with fresh veggies … Read more
Monday macrobug: parsleyworm
Look what I found while out weed-whacking in the yard: (gloved fingers for scale) That’s the larva of the black swallowtail butterfly. This good-looking caterpillar is colloquially known as a “parsleyworm.” In these last two shots, check it out without and with the osmeteria (fleshy “horns” behind the head) everted in defense: The osmeteria get … Read more
Geology and wine in northern Virginia, part I: the Blue Ridge
Callan attends the Geological Society of Washington’s fall field trip, examining the relationship between grape-growing and the underlying geology of two provinces in northern Virginia: the Blue Ridge and the Valley & Ridge. With GSW compatriots, Callan visits Hume Vineyards in the Blue Ridge basement complex and North Mountain Winery in the Shenandoah Valley. This is part I.
Midnight Rising, by Tony Horwitz
A couple of weeks ago, I was killing time down in Front Royal, and I spent a pleasant hour in the Royal Oak Bookshop. I saw a used paperback copy of Tony Horwitz’s classic Confederates in the Attic there, and bought it, thinking I could give it away to a friend or visitor who didn’t … Read more
Monday macrobugs: Wasp trio
Last week, we featured an insect that got into the house. This week, three insects that found their way into our screened-in porch. Wasps have an uncanny ability to get in there and get stuck. We inadvertently nab at least one per day that way. Pencil eraser for scale.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
In the delivery room last week, while we waited for Lily’s labor to ramp up, I finished reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. I think it was one of the most insightful, important books I’ve ever read. I was pre-disposed to like it, because I really enjoyed Pollan’s earlier book The Botany of Desire, … Read more
Monday macrobug: Mantisfly
Mantisflies: an awesome, under-appreciated family of insects. This one was on a glass sliding door on our house: I love the diversity of insects that we get around our new house.
Monday Macrobug: spotted pine sawyer
That’s an adult Monochamus clamator, the spotted pine sawyer, a kind of longhorned beetle. This one was on my deck this morning. My, what long antennae you have! “Give me a kiss,” the beetle says…
New GigaPans: Red hole, Blue hole
Last Thursday, I shot a few GigaPans of moderately-dipping quartz sandstone layers (the Silurian-aged Massanutten Formation) in the creek a few miles from my house. All four GigaPans are at popular local swimming holes. The first three are from Red Hole, and the last one is from Blue Hole. Check them out: link link link … Read more
Yard bird
We had a turkey in the yard this week: Pretty cool. These photos were taken from my “office” on the second floor of our house, through the window overlooking the front “yard.” I saw a flock of about 15 individual turkeys strutting through a neighbor’s field last week, too. I love living out here in … Read more
Friday fold: lower Martinsburg Formation near Bixler’s Ferry
The Friday fold is presented in photo, annotated photo, and GigaPan formats. It’s a cleaved anticline in lower Martinsburg Formation limy slate from Page County, Virginia. See if you can spot Mr. E. coli in the GigaPan!
Dobsonfly
Here’s your macrobug of the week: a male dobsonfly we encountered last weekend, while making houseguests some pizza. What a beast! Envelope for scale: Adding a finger (not too close) for scale: A better perspective on the envelope, with a shirt button thrown in too: Lola looks intimidated as she contemplates this insect through the … Read more
Walking to the mailbox
It’s a mile downhill from our new place to the mailbox on Fort Valley Road. It’s a nice little walk that my wife and I do. A neighbor has a mowed path along the edges of his property, and sometimes we take that route back up the hill. It allows my wife to visit with … Read more
My new commute
Callan describes the geology along his new commute from the Fort Valley east to the Annandale campus of NOVA. The driving route traverses the Valley & Ridge, Blue Ridge, and Piedmont provinces, including the Culpeper Basin, and stops just shy of the Coastal Plain.